


Brooklyn’s Avengers

by Kiyonek



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alpha Steve Rogers, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Detective Steve Rogers, Inspired by Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV), Lawyer Tony Stark, M/M, Not Beta Read, Omega Tony Stark, Pining, Secret Identity, mostly Tony tho
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:26:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26241115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiyonek/pseuds/Kiyonek
Summary: In NYPD Brooklyn's precint 107, detective Steve Rogers meets NY's #1 defensive attorney, Tony Stark. An old-school alpha clash with a futuristic omega in a battle of wits that gets them more than what they asked for.If it just happens that this police station holds secrets invisible for the naked eye, no one is the wiser.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 7
Kudos: 100





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for the 2019 Big bang in tumblr, but didn't got around finishing it on time. 
> 
> I really love what I have developed from this idea so far, and decided to share it and not let it sit on my computer for a longer time. This was supposed to be a one-shot, but I have more than 33 pages so I might as well divide it into chapters.

It began, oddly enough, with an arrest. 

He being an NYPD detective makes it plausible, still, it should be the most far-fetched way of falling in love. He gets some of Clint’s point now, “have you seen how much time you spend on the clock? Your future girl will have to share you with Fury!”

There was nothing wrong with being a faithful believer of justice, or relish on having the authority to exert it. Steve loves his job and, as Bucky says, “At least now his alleyway fights end with someone other than him at the other side of the bars”. However, that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t date at all. He does, just not as often as Bucky or with anyone for that matter. 

It was no one’s fault that his type just happens to be smart, hard willed, and with a witted tongue to match. Sharon was just like that, but also a government official that, with the end of another successful case, had to do the normal thing and jump onto the next airplane back to DC, and “I get the point Clint, get back to work.” 

It has been more than four months since then. Time in which he relegated himself fully to the office, to solve case after case, to put bully after bully behind the bars. He is not really into the mood of searching for the love of his life, not after Sharon had been so perfect and the biggest crush he ever had in a long time. 

So, it was no surprise that—after a long night of going after the trail of a very elusive criminal, and still being on high adrenaline after the chase—he would immediately stop and zoom in his attention onto the handsome omega that just waltzed into his interrogation room. 

Dark hair, sunglasses, custom-made suit, and perfectly groomed beard. The way the air changed at his very presence made it seem as if he already owned the place. All that took was a flick of a wrist, fingers carefully and elegantly taking the sunglasses off, and suddenly he found himself lost into a pair of brown eyes. 

The rare scent of unmarked omega was there, odd and unmistakably attractive after months of dealing with hookers, abused partners, and people not at the best point of their lives. 

It is disrespectful to stare so he should stop appreciating how such a well dressed man stands out as a sore thumb in the room, or in the station in general.

NYPD Brooklyn’s precinct 107 was hardly the biggest or most normal one out there. 

People like Clint and Natasha are better suited for the FBI or CIA, but prefer the simplicity that comes with solving little cases and having more than enough flexibility concerning the dress code. Mostly Clint, with his love for hoodies and the color purple. 

“FBI doesn’t have free donuts on fridays. They also have much more paperwork in a week than we do in a year, and it is boring” not the best reason for staying but a reason after all. 

However, not all of them are here for disliking their previous jobs, there are also people like Sam, Bucky, and Steve himself, that after being honorably discharged from the army couldn’t make it back to a normal civilian life. As for Captain Fury and Lieutenant Hill, nobody knows where they came from. Some rumors talked about something like “ex-government officials being reassigned”, but they died as quickly as they began. 

The man in front of him didn’t stand like an omega would. If it wasn’t for his discreet scent and slightly delicate frame, Steve would have thought he was another alpha. He thought the same of Natasha the first time they met.

For one second the detective just stared at him, until his brain caught up with the situation and a very well justified scowl made its way known into his face. 

He knows the station is a disaster. Just this morning there was a breakthrough on one of the street gangs they had been trying to get a hold on, and the processing is taking ages to make. Still, that doesn’t mean that someone—whoever they are—could just wander all the way into one of the interrogation rooms. 

“Sorry, there is an interrogation in progress. If you need help with something someone at the counter will direct you to the right place.” Steve explained with the most calm he could muster, while putting himself in between the newcomer and the handcuffed criminal in the making. The detective briefly considered escorting him himself, but it hasn't been a great week, what with one of their most regular and dangerous criminals getting free again. Sometimes he wishes the law wasn’t that permissive, but for now he just wants to get a signed confession and be done with it. 

That is, if the omega had not ignored him, walked around him, and took a stand besides the nervous looking young kid while saying, “There will be no interrogation until my client talks with me. That is within his rights, although he shouldn’t be here in the first place. How did this come to be, anyway?”

Great, dealing with lawyers isn't how he wanted to spend his day. 

Steve answered, “He is charged with destroying private property, under-age alcohol consumption, and armed robbery.”

“It wasn’t me!” was the autrougerous cry the eighteen year old uttered while looking all sad and scared in his sit by the table.

It is times like this when Steve doesn’t like his job. Witnessing how the world slowly corrupts children like him doesn’t give you hope for the future of humanity. But if Steve doesn’t stop them now, then what would? A stray bullet? A life sentence for homicide? 

“You heard the little man. I am going to take him back to his parents and construct a solid defense on why you are wrong and why I am right. It will be by your desk first thing tomorrow morning, no need for me to come back here personally, detective…?” 

“Rogers.” The blond responded, immediately blocking the way out of the interrogation room with crossed arms. “And I’m afraid I can’t let you do that. He was witnessed by both locals and security cameras while fleeing the scene. We have a spoken portrait from the cashier.”

“Let me see.” 

Steve should not share evidence—especially not with treacherous and overconfident defense attorneys—but he could not tolerate so much disregard of the law by this lawyer—the irony. That is why he uncrossed his arms and took out the said portrait from the green folder in his hands. Then, he presented the drawing for both pairs of eyes to see.

“That’s not me!” came the offended reply from the kid.

The lawyer thoughtfully compared the picture with the face at his side before finally arriving to a conclusion, “It could be anyone.”

Steve knows it is not the best portrait he has seen, but he didn’t exactly have the time to do it himself. 

The detective put the drawing back into the folder before returning to the problem at hand. “Still, I can’t let you take him out. At the very least he needs to stay the night until you can get me that defense you were talking about.”

The silence that followed was so thick that it could not be cut with a knife. The change in the lawyer’s demeanor was clear in the way his friendly personality seemed to have gone out the window. His expression was not exactly the poker face he expected. There was something fiery brewing up on those deep browns. 

The blond felt his heartbeat go up a notch. This omega was defying him, and his inner alpha was prompting him to dominate, to put the omega in his place, but no, Steve was better than that. He didn’t growl or let his scent leak. He stood his ground as calm and patient as always. There was a reason why Fury assigned the most problematic cases to him.

“You don’t know who I am, do you?” There was surprise and disbelief in his voice, but all Steve could see was arrogance. As if it was a law that people should know about him.

“No, I don’t,  _ sir. _ ” He responded with a challenge of his own, and a hint of mockery on his voice, “Should I?”

“Seriously? Tony Stark? Best defense attorney in NY, doesn’t ring a bell?” Now the disbelief was much more clearer, and when did he get so close to his face?

The detective smoothly took a step back, more than aware of the lack of personal space. He said, “Haven't heard of it.” But he had. He just didn’t expect to ever meet him. There aren’t many cases in which people could afford a defense, that is why he makes sure he is arresting the right person. 

Eugene “Flash” Thompson was seen exiting a local store in Brooklyn on a sprint, just after said store got robbed. Of course Steve checked out the security cameras and got a physical description of the attacker, which happened to be blond, tall, young, and with a black hoodie. Thankfully, the store owner would not present any charges if Flash returns what was stolen. So the interrogation has to happen, he doesn’t want to be forced to put the kid in a cell for the night but a little bit of a scare will serve him just as right. He just needs a confession and the stolen five hundred. 

“Ah, I don’t want to sound ungrateful sir, but I don’t think I can afford you.” Flash pointed out.

“Don’t worry kid, this is a favor for a friend. I am taking your case as pro bono.” Stark responded before turning back to Steve, “Fine, he stays, but so do I. I can put my defense together from here so shoo, my client calls dibs to some privacy with his lawyer.” 

The blond man looked at the kid for some type of confirmation, receiving in exchange a quick nod that had him sighing and moving on to the door, “You have thirty minutes.”

It didn’t take that long.

Ten minutes after taking his leave, Steve was trying and failing to make a breakthrough on his newly assigned Strange case— “Come on Steve! Nat is finally going on a date with me, I can’t stay on Fury’s leash tonight. Please, do your bro a favor and take over for me, think of the future Romanov-Barnes twins!” —when said omega passed by his cubicle. 

“Alright detective, here is how things are going to be. The kid stays here, but there will be no interrogations unless I am present, and also, no close encounters with big and ugly over there.”

Steve followed the lawyer’s eyes trajectory to the cell’s section of the department and the group of gangsters still going through security checks. He nodded his consent, not saying that he wasn’t planning on putting the kid there in the first place. 

“I will be back before you could even work how to correctly use that copying machine. Seriously, you people are worse than circus monkeys." And just like that, he went out.

Clint took that moment to verge in, “Steve! the printer isn’t working again. Did I put too much paper?”

They did manage to get Clint’s copies, even if it took making a call to maintenance and about an hour of waiting. Sam cried because he just needed to deliver a folder to Fury’s office before finally getting to clock-out for the day, but could not do so without said physical papers. Darcy muttered something about not having enough coffee for this before just giving up and going home. Jane followed suit not too long after only to return with a struggling Darcy, draggin her all the way back to the forensic lab. Natasha ignored them all, including Bucky, who would not stop making reminders about their date night. At least nobody, not even the annoying bug flying around the terrifying russian, got serious injuries that day.

Steve just got his own share of photocopies when, going back to his desk, he caught a hint of brown and stuck-up at the station entrance. The blond didn’t bother taking a seat and instead waited for said omega who, upon arrival, passed him a yellow folder with a cocky smile. 

“So, short version, there were two young and blond men at the store last night, which, of course, you would not know because you only checked the footage after the robbery, not before. Little Eugene was there for some condoms did you know? He was feeling more than a little bit lucky for a second date, really, kids these days. Anyway, the store owner? The one that you used for the spoken portrait? Myopic. He didn't have his eyeglasses at the moment of the robbery, so of course it is not the best portrait of a human face I have ever seen, hell, some of its dimensions don’t look humanly possible, you should get a better, or real, specialist for those. Also, the stolen bottle of vodka? Did you see him running out with one? I took the liberty of taking some copies of the exact details you missed.”

The detective opened up the folder and started going through its contents while the lawyer continued going from argument to argument. He wondered how the omega got access to the security cameras or to the store owner’s medical records. However, Steve was more concerned in how such important details went through him. That didn’t happen, should not happen, and suddenly he felt the worst scum on earth for having an innocent and scared kid chained to a table in the interrogation room. He was devastated, but didn’t let it show on his face, that would not be professional. 

And there was also the smiling omega scrubbing up his biggest mistake at his face, “So? Impressed enough captain? I also looked you up. Weird career change you got there, going from condecorated captain to police officer.”

Steve counted to ten, closed the folder and put it in on top of the rest of documents at his desk. Now he also needs to add an explanation to captain Fury on why he arrested the wrong man by mistake, it is going to be a long day, “Alright, let’s get him out.” 

Again, the surprise and disbelief made themselves present, “Seriously? Just like that?”

He smiled his most polite—and totally not sad—smile, crossing his arms over his chest in a way of not giving into the temptation of asking for having a word with the kid. He has this need to apologize for the error, but at the same time knows it may not be well received. Stark in particular seemed that would take it for granted. So, Steve just limited himself to say, “Unless you have more evidence that could help me with this case.”

That gave the omega a pause, then he was at it again, “The culprit took the back exit, maybe you could find something in the security cameras from the street.” 

Steve didn’t expect him to collaborate, but that was an useful piece of information, “Also, I have to make a confession, my client isn’t completely innocent. Did you know he ran away during the confusion with some stolen condoms? He still has five in his pockets.” And Steve didn’t need to know that.

“Thanks for your collaboration. Mr. Thompson is still in the same interrogation room, you can take him with you.” With that said, the blond finally made it back into his seat and started to sort out Bucky’s crap. He will need to make some space for his still ongoing case after all.

After a minute he realized the omega was still there.

“What?”

“Aren’t you going to walk me?”

“You know the way, don’t you?” that much was clear by how the omega got into his interrogation by himself. 

The man rolled his eyes, “Of course I do!”

“Then there is no point in me walking a perfectly capable and smart person around, right?”

The suit moved his lips like a fish out of the water for a second, before setting them into a thin line. He said, “Right”, and then finally moved the hell away from his cubicle.

Steve sighed and massaged the frown that made its way known into his face once the omega turned away. That exchange proved to be the most stressful one he has had in years. 

“Pss, Steve.” The blond looked up to the desk at his right. Bucky was there, smiling at his misery, “quite the way to flirt with the fellas, man.”

“Maybe I should tell Fury about a certain case that isn’t going to be taken care of tonight.”

Bucky made a wise retreat and didn’t say a thing after that.

Later that night, while still going over Bucky’s case and his own on top of that—after all he still needs to find the vodka robber—, he would go over the day’s events and realize as a barely important fact that Stark—and how to forget that when the lawyer left him a presentation card for no reason at all, “just in case, you know, I have too much of them anyway”—was the first omega attorney he has ever seen around these parts. 

The world is changing, and over the past twenty years, omegas have been granted rights they didn’t have before. Steve sees this as a good thing, a sign that things are changing for the better, but there are still many alphas out there that found it illogical and a total madness. 

Curiously, he opened up the yellow folder again, going through its contents and finding a little note at the end. While reading the “I told you so”, he thought of those brown eyes framed by long dark lashes and the defiance in them. His stomach stirred, but his heart skipped a bit.

The detective groaned onto his desk.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a normal day in the force.

Steve was ready to dismiss it as another "Carter" incident. Although, his meeting with Tony hardly went the same way it did with both female alphas.

Peggy's entrance in his life was similar, alright, with a presence that easily took up the room and made heads turn, difficult not to do so when the woman was too lethal and beautiful to ignore.

But Tony wasn’t as polite or as intimidating. He was cute actually, and so exasperating that Steve couldn’t help but want to put the guy into his place. It was a weird mixture of emotions. He couldn’t stand him, but for some reason it also made him want to kiss him, and not only just for making him stop talking.

Either way, it wasn’t as if he would see the weird omega again. Just another infatuation that will fade. There were more important matters to focus on, like the present debrief. 

Steve took a seat in the front at the left column, right between Sam and Bucky. It wasn’t odd to not have tables, they weren’t going to discuss tactics like they used to back in the military, this was just a short-weekly meeting to catch up with the neighborhood’s overall happenings.

“So… are we starting? Because I would like to eat lunch right now.” Complained Darcy at the very back and everyone turned to look at her in confusion. These meetings are more for on-the-field officers.

“Um, are you supposed to be here?” asked an officer whom Steve doesn’t really know, but it is something normal in a seven-story building. 

“Not necessarily”, cut in Lieutenant Hill, walking up to the front platform while willing everyone to be quiet with just one stare, “But seeing that you’re already here, take a seat Mrs. Lewis so we can begin.”

Sam holds up a laugh, Steve looks confused, and Buck just smiles before whispering, “I told her that there will be donuts at the end.”

The blond punched his best friend with an elbow for being a jerk.

“There will not”, he muttered back. He swears, this prank war doesn’t seem to have an end. It got worse after Buck’s “date”, which actually happened to be just pet-sitting Natasha’s cat while she, Jane, and Darcy went out on a girls’ night. Apparently, Natasha found it so funny that she decided to play along until the very last moment. 

“Yeah, but she doesn’t know.” 

“Silence Barnes” commanded Hill, “if you want to talk, why don’t you and Wilson take the word, I heard there was a breakthrough on Mr. Williams’ murder.” The air sobered up and now everybody looked expectantly to the front. 

“Great for you to mention it, we did find something,” said Bucky, both him and Sam walking to the front with serious steps. 

Sam went on and retold what most already knew. 

There is someone out on the streets kidnapping and killing police officers in Brooklyn. It is random, they could be of any precinct or any rank. They disappear, and their bodies were found between an interval of two days and three months. It has been going on for a year now, always male, always between twenty-five and thirty years old. It is a mystery nobody has found heads or tails of, enough uncertainty to make some fellow officers leave their badges. 

Steve glared at Hill, still not happy with Bucky being assigned to this case. He really doesn’t have a good feeling about all this, and Buck is still recuperating. The new prosthetic is doing wonders, or so his friend says, but there’s still something dark within his eyes and Steve does his best in trying to make him happy. 

“We went back to previous information shared by precinct eighty-five and on the last five murders in our area. We think we finally found a link…”

At the television set, a photo of officer Ryan Williams while performing his duties as a traffic policeman is shown. The next photo is a close-up of the last one, the better angle showing some yellow mass on the bottom corner of his mouth.

After some expectant silence, Mr. Zane from patrol asked, “Is that... flan?” 

Bucky took the lead, “I say lemon pie. Sam thinks it doesn’t look like crumbs but it could still be the filling.”

“It looks like vomit,'' deadpanned Natasha. 

A discussion over what it was arose. At the end, Hill called order and Sam was able to explain that apparently all the victims frequented the same cake shop, but it wasn’t something sustancial enough to form a lead. So officer Rand from logistics came next, giving an overall summation of the counting crime scenes they have had this month, with statistics and comparisons on how numbers seem to be lower in contrast to the last. Sargent Drew announced new patrol rotations, and Hill reminded everyone of being careful and having their eyes open at all times. Overall it was a normal debrief, and within less than an hour they were all dismissed.

Darcy came up to them and narrowed her eyes, “There were no donuts.”

Bucky shrugged, “There was no date too. We all don’t get what we want in this life, do we?”

She made a rude hand gesture and rolled her eyes before stomping all the way back to the lab. Sam laughed and Steve just shook his head, but the blond ended up smiling anyways. He really is happy for his best friend. Everyday he seems to be coming back to his normal-self, there are still times in which Steve would catch him looking at the distance, but those moments have become very few and far in between that it had to mean something. 

Progress, he believes. 

He can’t thank Nat or Clint enough.

Then, going back to their cubicles in the second floor, Steve saw him again. 

Stark was as pristine looking as the last time… while scavenging his desk in a not too discreet way. 

Sam and Buck shared a look before going back to their respective assignments, but Steve could feel more than one pair of eyes on himself. Obviously everyone already noticed the noisy lawyer but were too lazy to do something about it. Or maybe they just wanted to see the drama unfold. The latter was the most probable option.

“Heya, Cap!” the man saluted with a big smile when he finally noticed his presence.

Steve flinched but portrayed a carefully professional face, “It is detective, and going through official documentation is illegal, it calls for a night in a cell.” 

The omega had the gall to look offended.

“It isn’t when the documentation pertaining to my client and his charges is most probably hanging around here. Not my fault you haven’t been here for the last ten minutes, I’m a busy person.”

Steve was annoyed but also mildly curious. He hasn't detained anyone in the last twenty four hours, “Who are you searching for?” 

“Oliver Robbins, please.”

The name was familiar, but it wasn’t someone he had caught on recently. The man gets in trouble too frequently for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, a regular at the station that always gets off with a warning so Steve can’t see how Stark got in contact with him. Mr. Robbins doesn’t do lawyers.

“He isn’t here.”

“But I got an arrest notification, how come he is not here?” 

Steve was about to ask how exactly that notification came to be when a bulky man he hadn't noticed before in the vicinity said in a loud voice, “Ah, that would be my fault detective Stevens!” 

Steve instantly recognized him as “Thor” from the fire department. 

“I found the little and scared man outside a building being consumed by the mighty flames. He said he had information about the happenings and only wanted to talk to you. However, some of your fellow warriors took him away to the dungeons despite his protest.”

That explained the situation. Somehow.

Steve uncrossed his arms and walked to the front desk to pick up the list of recently arrested criminals. There, just before the very last name, was Mr.Robbins’. 

“Thanks Thor. Tell captain Singh I will take up from here and send you any updates.” 

“Excellent! I will await your message while rescuing more kittens in need,” he said happily, clapping a big hand on Steve’s shoulder before going straight to the stairs. It just occurred to Steve that he never got his phone number, but he could always make a call to the fire department through the internal line. 

Steve saw Jane peeking behind the lab’s door. Their eyes met and the door was abruptly closed.

“So, my client?” the omega demanded, taking a step closer for some reason. Blue met brown, and Steve distantly noticed the height difference while taking in an involuntary dosis of that sweet cinnamon smell. It was more obvious than the last time they met. It made weird things to his head so he put a stop to those thoughts and focused on the situation at hand. 

His eyes went back to the list of criminals and their cell numbers. All the while he couldn’t help but to keep a smile for Thor’s antics. Steve doesn’t know the whole story, only that Thor is under federal protection because of some family dispute back in Norway. The foreigner could be weird but was also a great man with a big heart, and the detective can’t see why he would need protection from his family.

Steve got the correct cell number and turned back to Stark. 

“I guess.” He said, and then they proceeded to walk towards the stairs too. Until the omega pointed out the working elevator and got inside it instead. 

It made Steve sigh—being in an enclosed space with an omega was just asking for trouble—, but then he smirked because Mr. Robbins hates lawyers and it was looking up to be a fun day afterall. 

Less be said that Stark didn’t find it amusing to have a fifty something man shouting at him for wanting to “-stealing my money! I don’t need a lawyer, leave me the fuck alone!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was more a exposition of the normal activity in the police station, also of Steve's and Tony's interactions since they met. But don't fret! Next chapter we will be able to see things from Tony's perspective.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony created a law firm and Pepper ended up as CEO, again.

After Howard’s death, both Jarvis and Maria were accused of homicide.

Obadiah Stane was the one who made the charges, evidencing how both butler and wife were the only ones with access to the man’s workshop, and how both would have more than enough reasons to kill him. 

It was no secret that Howard’s and Maria’s marriage wasn’t what it used to be many years ago. A bit too much makeup here, or not enough of it right there. It all just prompted people to talk. 

Mostly there were rumors about Howard’s drunkenness, which wasn’t too obvious in public but still a thing if what his many one-night-stands said was true. 

And that was another thing, Howard wasn’t entirely faithful to his wife. But being ever the charmer, it somehow morphed from Howard to Maria being the cheater, and so giving her husband reasons for searching a warm body at night. The older Stark didn’t say anything, but many theorized it was because Maria cheated with the family butler, and just didn’t want to dig into that shame. 

In the middle of all this madness, there was Tony. The omega son that started it all.

Actually, he wasn’t guilty of anything, but after trying so many times to get an alpha heir, the omega they got instead stung on Howard’s pride. 

Even now, when Tony looks up to Stane Industries, when he re-reads his father’s will, or when an alpha tells him what to do; even then, there is still that same hot hate he has for the injustices of this world. The world that made his mom mad, and that took Jarvis away. Still, not everything is bad, he has Rhodey and Pepper after all. 

Opening up “Potts Consultations” wasn’t an easy fit. At the beginning he wanted it to be “Stark Consultations” but the law doesn’t let unmated omegas be the owners’ of any type of company. Hence why no one at the board of directors at SI tried to lift a finger for their only heir and rightful CEO, instead encouraging the idea of him mating with Stane as his father’s will stated. 

It needed a court, and mostly him defending himself, to finally see an out in Howard’s scheme. 

It said that if he wanted to be the head of SI, he needed to mate with someone the board approves of in the span of a year after his death, or just outright marry Obadiah. However, there was nothing in case Tony decided he didn’t want SI anymore—the bastard probably thought his son didn’t have the balls to leave his leisure life behind. 

So Tony Stark—child prodigy who even after graduating MIT at seventeen in both mechanical and engineering sciences only got the media’s attention when he partied or dated a “possible future CEO of the Stark empire”—went back to MIT law school on a full scholarship thanks to his teachers’ help and support, experienced the life of a normal college student—moaning and pouting it all at Rhodey who just rolled his eyes—, got a part-time job with Pepper’s help to pay his expenses, and left a little bit of his passion for robotics behind in favor of searching ways of defending Jarvis’ case. 

Eventually, Rhodey left for the Air Force, Stark Industries changed its name to Stane Industries, Pepper graduated business school, and Tony tried and failed to get a job at any law firm—something about his reputation mixed with him being an omega, good old discrimination.

He didn’t have anything to lose. 

He received a call from the Metropolitan Correctional Center in NY about Jarvis’ death and his mom’s decaying mental state. After the funeral and making some arrangements for the possibility of a nursing home for his mother, Tony realized that money was going to be an issue more than ever. 

It was a crazy idea that surged while drunk on his and Pepper’s apartment, the redhead complaining about her job and the harassment she had to put up with Aldrich Killian.

And then, a flash of inspiration.

“Sue him.”

Pepper stopped in mid-rant and stared at him as if he was out of his mind.

“You think I haven’t thought of that? It will be impossible! A.I.M. has a group of lawyers backing them up, I know there is dirt they want to keep covered but I have no evidence whatsoever. I may be his PA, but Killian loves anonymity. He would not just take me to meet his secret investors.”

“No, but seriously, think about it”, he said with more drive he has felt in months, letting his feet touch the floor and the bottle of cheap beer aside on the coffee table, “Sexual harassment is a serious accusation, didn’t you said Killian is a pig with everyone in the office? How come nobody has sued him?”

“Tony, you’re not listening. There are lawyers, as in plural, suing him will only give me more problems than what is worth it, everybody knows it. Also, there is no way people are going to believe that an alpha is being sexually harassed by a beta, society is that short-minded.”

“It will only be a major cluster-fuck if we don’t do a good job at presenting the facts.”

“We have no evidence!”

“But what if we do? I could be your lawyer, and you don’t have to pay me anything for it. All you need to do is testify, get your get compensation, and probably put Killian behind bars.” 

She narrowed her gaze, “I might also lose my job, and get more people in trouble, Tony.”

He smiled, an idea taking shape before his eyes, “But we could use the money and the attention of the media to put up a law firm, with us as CEO, and offer some of your coworkers jobs. Hell, we could help them get compensation too if they want it!”

It got more complicated than what he originally thought. 

Without really meaning it, he undercovered a whole lab of clandestine human experimentation.

It didn’t come up in court—which they won, not surprisingly—, but he made sure to leave a path of crumbs. Something too obvious to be left alone. Or so he thought until A.I.M. got on its feet again and arrested them for manipulation and robbery of some company’s blueprints (“Come on! Why would we want to rob tech a decade behind Hammer's?!”). And sure, he did hack into their systems and manipulate some of the information (“It was too easy and I was bored Pep!”) while also getting access to their security cameras for getting the evidence they needed. However, Pepper wasn’t involved in her lawyer’s less than righteous ways, so she was released without any repercussions. 

Tony had to serve a week of prison for hacking and breaching their “privacy”, until the next court, where he went all out presenting the whole creepy facts. Then the feds took it up from there and he and Pepper got out of the whole problem. 

Pepper likes to refer to the whole endeavor as a great example of what happens when he has a “great idea”, Tony always retorts with: “It brought us to today, didn’t it?” 

To Potts Consultations being the most sought after, by both clients and employees alike. They hire without discrimination, and take cases that nobody else wants—mostly from normal people that doesn’t have big companies to rely on, cases that appear to be doomed from the start. Money isn’t a problem when winning the defense makes enough for both paying their fee and making their clients life’s comfortable. 

Still, law is law and only Pepper, as an alpha, could be the CEO. 

It suited Tony just as fine, that means he still has plenty of time for his old pastimes. The redhead is the one that sometimes claims to have taken the short end of the stick, mostly because “Tony! I graduated from business school, not law!”

“A law firm is essentially a business, you are doing great love.”

“Sure, but having knowledge on the field would make things so much easier… I need a new pair of shoes.”

“You know you love me.”

“My new pair of shoes loves you too.”

It was a nice routine, filled with the occasional hard case that would take days; giving their little part-timer Peter errands that were more around “spy and photograph some shit out of these people”; with Dum-E, U, and Butterfingers making disasters at the workshop; him not any time closer to finishing the algorithm for his ultimate AI; and all in all trying to remember how to maintain a normal eating and sleeping schedule. 

At least now he doesn’t have to solve any case that comes their way. They had gotten big enough that now they have both regular clients and a decent number of lawyers in the firm capable of working alongside them. 

Finally, Tony is famous where it matters. He is no longer portrayed in gossip magazines and can mostly choose what cases he wants to take on or not. 

The media always exaggerated his playboy persona, but he still enjoys a good party and gets laid from time to time. And if working in Potts Co. taught him something, it was that he wasn’t made to be a CEO from the start. Too much responsibility. He barely gets out of bed in time as it is, and tends to forget that there is a certain number of pro bono cases that he needs to fill up every three months. He doesn’t like them, they are just a publicity stunt. 

So, “why suddenly go all the way down to Brooklyn for pro bono cases?” she asked in a suspicious tone one day, finally able to intercept Tony. The man hadn't taken more than ten steps outside the elevator, with a smile and giddiness to his feet too obvious to ignore. 

Said Stark looked momentarily perplexed—not expecting to be interrogated in the middle of the hallway, if not at all—, but then he just smiled as always while saying, “You sent me there, as our social responsibility to the community and yada yada, blueberry?” 

Pepper looked down to the offered fruit, dumbfounded, then back to the man that was clearly hiding something, “That was weeks ago! It was just one case, I never said you had to hang out there. There is so much more work to do here that I don’t get what you're doing filling up unnecessary pro bonos.”

“Why unnecessary? We are helping people.” He took a blueberry to his mouth and continued on his way to his office, there were too many witnesses out here, “It is great publicity.”

Predictably, Pepper followed by his side. She lowered her voice at noticing they had the attention of most of the present personal, “It is great publicity when it makes it to the news”, then she sighed, “I am not saying it is bad to help when you can, that is great Tony, but sometimes it is better if you don’t show up so much at a police station.” She didn’t say more but he could feel it in her gaze. 

The memory of being arrested—again, for petty reasons really—came to mind, and he rolled his eyes while finally making it inside. His office was impersonal, without a single framed photograph. He comes by once or twice a week anyway. 

“Not my fault that they all act like big manly alphas that can’t take an omega seriously”, most of them anyway, apparently Rogers was an exception.

“Well, you are not the most patient or pleasant lawyer one could deal with.”

Tony went directly to the back and began to fill a glass of scotch. He had missed being able to get his hands around the good poison on his last years of college. He would have offered Pepper some but she is the responsible adult, “I will take that as a compliment, always a pleasure to make the boys run up the walls.”

The redhead closed the glass door softly with a click, choosing to stay standstill. She is the very image of authority with crossed arms, dark blue pencil dress, and killer high heels. Maybe once he entertained the idea of mating with her, but their short relationship showed them that they were better off as friends. 

He still loves her, as the big sister he never had.

“And why the change? You didn’t even want to go in the first place.” She asked, not buying his act.

“I didn’t.” That much is the truth, “It was laughable! I defend people from homicide or corporate espionage, not your next store thief. If it wasn’t Peter asking I would not have gone.” 

Parker called in a favor for a friend. Apparently Lizy’s boyfriend robbed a local store—or those were the charges—, but Peter was sure the guy was just an idiot, the kind that would panic and run when confronted with a policeman. No wonder he was arrested, running only made him seem all the more suspicious. 

She slowly approached the desk, lifting up a folder and skimming through the pages, “And you are still going there to defend people of thief, teenage drug dealing, and for dressing up as superheroes while robbing crime scenes?”, her eyebrows reached her hairline.

Tony shrugged, smiled, and lifted up his glass for a toast, “to Brooklyn”

“Look,” she put back the paperwork on the table and looked up at Tony in the eye, “I have known you for ten years, god knows how much I had, and still am, putting up with you, and I know the signs. Please Tony, whoever it is, don’t do anything stupid.”

He snorted, “What signs? Please, Pep. Do you really think that low of me?” he faked a hurt look.

“Yes, I do.” She smiled, and apparently satisfied, made her way towards the door, “Oh, and Tony. Your pheromones are all over the place.”

Well, shit.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony knows he is pining but doesn't want to admit it, meanwhile Steve lands himself some nice vacations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I know I have been out of it for a while. October hadn't been the nicest month to me in relation of homework. I apologize in advance for all the time errors in my grammar.

If someone is at fault, it has to be Mr. “Perfect and Handsome” Steven Rogers.

Like, damn, that man is eye candy.

Detective Rogers could easily be anyone’s wet dream. Blond, big blue eyes, broad shoulders, and what looked like hard biceps under that dark blue long sleeved button up shirt that only made his eyes stand out even more. The perfect definition of what an alpha is supposed to be.

The first time they met in the interrogation room Tony openly stared for some short seconds before finally taking off his sunglasses and focusing on what he came to do. After all, teenage shit was a piece of cake, and the faster he finished it the faster he could go back to Manhattan and to a glass of scotch.

Eugene Thompson was your regular eighteen year old, and with regular, he means the jock stereotype. He dug what he could on his way to Brooklyn, finding out that in reality the kid lives in Queens; goes to Midtown High in Forest Hills, which is also in Queens; and what is this kid doing all the way down in Brooklyn? Well, of course if he was planning a robbery he should not do it near his home, but the kid doesn’t strike him as the brightest crayon in the box. 

However, the detective clearly didn’t think the same, making things more difficult than what they should be. Tony actually wanted to point at the kid and say, “Do you really think he could steal his grandma’s PJ’s? He looks a step away from peeing himself!” but a voice at the back of his head—Pepper’s, unsurprisingly—said that it is too early in the year to get arrested for disrespecting the authority, again. He did promise it would be a one time thing so better keep it up and avoid getting hit by a certain redhead’s high-heels.

The surprising thing is that Pepper didn’t have anything to worry about in the end. 

The alpha merely looked annoyed by his presence, but not insulted by the fact that there was an omega contradicting him. Even if Tony refused to cower under his hard stare like any obedient omega, the man didn’t growl or show his teeth. He looked surprised, sure, but also calm and collected. Tony went as far as to invade the man’s personal space—alphas are territorial, and doing so normally gets Tony a sneer—but the detective just stood back and played it no mind. 

Then—after getting Rogers to admit his defeat—, Tony waited for the officer to walk with him back to the interrogation room, and this is when the most surprisingly heartwarming thing happened. 

Tony was just waiting for the detective to accompany him back to his client when said alpha just sat there and looked up to him with confusion in those baby blues.

“What?” 

“Aren’t you going to walk me?”

“You know the way, don’t you?”

Tony rolled his eyes, just barely resisting the urge to scoff, “Of course I do!”

“Then there is no point for me to walk a perfectly capable and smart person around, right?*

The tone wasn’t sarcastic, nor intentionally insulting. He said it as if he was merely stating the facts: That Tony is smart and more than capable of walking by himself. 

Normally, Tony wouldn’t be left alone for a minute. He would have an officer walking him from and to the exit so the “weak defenseless” omega would be safe. And if it wasn’t that, then it was because they didn’t trust Tony wouldn’t butt into confidential information. 

It was a vote of trust in some sense, one that left him muttering a response and doing so before the man changed his mind.

The detective was a puzzle so, yeah, all of this was his fault.

The brunette sighed and looked to the black screen of his phone. There hasn’t been any notifications as of late. 

Since that first run in with Rogers, he got this brilliant idea of filling his share of pro bono cases—so Pepper wouldn’t pester him about them—at Brooklyn, and reveal Rogers’ secrets at the same time. Because “nobody is that nice without wanting something in return”, that much is the only thing Howard was ever right about. So of course he had to make up a program that notifies him when an arrest by said alpha is made. 

And there hadn’t been any in the past two days.

He supposes that Steve isn’t arresting people all the time, that maybe he is just being slow in joining the dots…

Only that by previous statistics he knows that Steve should have apprehended at least someone by now. 

Tony wanted to slap himself. He can’t believe the level at which he had been reduced: waiting for a notification as a worried wife would wait for a call. And he had to groan because that was another problem, if it wasn’t for Pepper he wouldn’t have noticed.

After his fourth visit to the station, Tony could see that Rogers didn’t have any ulterior motives, or that at least he wasn’t exactly planning anything. It got obvious after seeing him interact with other people. This was just the way the alpha was. It was weird, finding someone that is outside of the stereotype and doesn’t make him want to punch them in the face. 

There was also the fact of the detective being an adonis so of course Tony would try to invite him into a coffee date and let some of his omega scent in the air. He is not shy. 

It has gotten out of hand, though. 

He had been leaking pheromones the way a besotted high-school omega would, so unconsciously that Rogers and everyone else at the station should have noticed. 

If the knowing smiles that he got during his last visit were anything to go by, then this has been going on for a while. His only mercy is that Rogers hadn’t acted any different, as if he was still ignorant of Tony literally throwing himself to his strong arms. Tony was thankful but also hurt, on his pride, of course. 

Sure, it is normal. It is a bodily response for catching the attention of prospective mates, different from the heat in the way it just makes you more attractive without endangering yourself. 

That explains why he had sensed too many eyes on himself as of lately, but there wasn't any of the need that comes with the heat so he paid it no mind until now. His mother once commented that there will be the day in which his pheromones would react at the sight of his desired mate, “that will be the day you will know you are in love, my baby boy.”

Tony frantically took the phone of his office and dialed Pepper’s extension as quickly as he could. 

“Tony, if this is about how much you need a rise for continuing your mad experiments…”

“Not that, but how dare you call them mad! They are not illogical or impossible, they have scientifically proved bases and might one day change the world as we know it, I am THE futurist, Pepper.” He said with fake hurt.

There was a tired sigh at the other end of the line, but he could hear the fondness on her voice, “Alright, then what is it?”

“I want the Banner case.”

“The one that just yesterday you said you were too busy to handle?” he could hear her arched eyebrow.

“That one, my schedule suddenly opened,” because the long awaited notifications haven’t appeared at all and shhh brain, trying to forget Rogers here.

“Sure.” Her voice was somewhat bland, as if she already knew just how bare his schedule was but refrained from commenting on it, “I already e-mailed it to you yesterday, which you would know if you checked your inbox regularly…” and she would have gone on reprimanding him on his bad ways if he hadn’t cut her on time.

“Oh, look at the time! I should get going. Thanks Pep!”

“Ton-!”

He hung up the call, closed his laptop and made a hurried exit to the elevator. 

*******

In Brooklyn not everything has to make sense. 

Like that case in which Natasha uncovered the victim as an accomplice. It just took some seconds of eye-to-eye contact with the ex-assassin and the guy ended up revealing that he paid someone to break into his house, steal the TV, and knock him unconscious. All because he wanted to retrieve the insurance. The thing is that the thief took the TV, along with many other things that left the victim’s apartment rather bare, and hadn’t called back since. 

“Hilarious! He actually expected the guy to call back after he saw all his stuff was gone”, added Clint after telling the story back in the station.

“Not all of it”, said Nat without turning around from her desk, up til’ that moment she had been entirely ignoring Clint’s tale while doing some work on her computer.

“Well, some criminals aren’t too crazy to stole someone else’s underwear and sex toys”, commented Sam, probably remembering that case in which a beta was so obsessed with an omega that he broke in into said omega’s home to stole said objects. It didn’t take long to find him, he came back to deliver his own underwear. During this case, Bucky said: ”See Stevie? There are people out there with worse flirting skills than you. There is still hope!”

Now that Buck remembers those times, he had to comment, “I don’t know, I’d not mind if they were Nat’s…”

“One more word Barnes and I will kill you.”

Another thing that doesn’t make sense is Stark’s now and then appearances. 

He says, “I am filling my share of pro bonos for my firm, obviously, because nobody around here can afford me”, but it still doesn’t make sense why he comes here. Precinct 107th isn’t the only one that exists.

And detective Rogers swears that the man exists to make his life more difficult than what it actually is. Not all the time Stark comes to backup some of the suspects on his cases, sometimes it is Clint’s or Buck’s—one time it happened to be Natasha’s, but now he carefully seems to avoid that—, but it sure feels like he has something against Steve. 

It doesn’t help that the man is very attractive. Always with his fitted slacks, and perfectly combed hair. Steve sometimes can get a sniff of that distinguishable and rich omega scent, not because he wants to—which maybe he does—, but because somehow they tend to end up so close to each other that it could not be helped. Their arguments get so heated sometimes that Steve is left with a terrible need to go and hit some sandbags. 

It has become something not too unlike a routine. Stark—”Call me Tony, I’m too young and pretty to be my father”—showing him up and then patting him reasurely in the back with a “Maybe next time, Cap!” in a chirpy tone. He always calls him Cap and gets into his personal space. At one time he is not sure if he heard or not an invitation for coffee in: “I know places that serve better coffee than this monstrous machine, you have to come with me one day.”

That time, Steve answered with a noncommittal “That coffee is for police officers, you shouldn’t be here”, because Stark had been currently standing in the station’s kitchen, which is clearly a restricted area if you don’t have a badge.

However, it wasn’t too bad all the time. There were moments in which he saw his happy face after delivering another flawless defense, and Steve can’t be angry with him. The blond admits defeat and gives him some candy for it. 

The first time that happened the omega openly stared, complaining about not being a kid, but when Steve threatened to take it back he just quickly popped the lollipop into his mouth and said, “Mine, no returns.”

How childish.

“Dude, Stark clearly wants something, can’t you smell him?” asked Clint, taking Steve back to the present conversation.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Of course he would get a sniff or two with how close they argue.

“Everything!”

"Think about it this way,” said Bucky, moving closer to Steve's desk without standing up from his chair, "What does an omega want when they present their neck?" 

"To be scented?" It was more a question than a statement. Steve doesn't have enough dating experience to be sure of that. 

"Exactly! that is what Stark is doing!"

The blond rolled his eyes with incredulity, "Clint, Stark doesn't present his neck, he wants to riff mine off."

"That too! But not in the way you are thinking."

"Omegas can show interest without having to let their necks exposed. That one is mostly reserved for their mate, you idiots have been around too many hookers lately" Suddenly came in Natasha’s voice, the only omega detective at precinct 107th, referring to the prostitution ring they dealt with last week. Many of the omegas that were found could not help but to throw themselves at any alpha officer in the vicinity, apparently they were constantly pumped with drugs that initiated heats, "if they feel flirty just some leaked pheromones is enough." 

"So what I have been smelling in the air is you?"

"Get lost Barnes."

"Aye, aye, my love", Bucky and his chair rolled away. 

"Stark isn't interested in me", Steve defended for the umpteenth time.

It was ridiculous, what his workmates were hinting at have never happened to Steve at all. Sure, the army did him good, but at the end he is still the same stubborn little alpha from Brooklyn. He doesn't have any illusions of ever mating with an omega as smart and attractive as Tony Stark, who now the blond knows is a famous defense attorney that makes more money in a week than what Steve could do in a month. Hell, he lives in Manhattan and somehow wants to come and do his pro bono in Brooklyn.

It still doesn’t make sense.

“You know your crush is obvious, right?” Steve looked up to find Darcy leaning in the wall of his cubicle, eating popcorn, “I don’t know how you two can stand so close to each other and not kiss. I also don’t know how Jane can’t say more than three words in front of that weird-named guy from the fire department around the block. It’s not that hard. You just have to…” she paused to pick up a popcorn and crush it with her teeth, “close the distance.”

“You haven’t had a boyfriend in a year!” accused Clint.

“Mind your own damn business!” she yelled back while flipping him the bird.

“And you should mind yours as well, Lewis”, at hearing Captain Fury’s voice, everyone moved as smoothly as they could back to their work stations, trying to make it seem as if that is what they had been doing right from the start. 

Darcy steeled herself before finally turning around with a smile, “Hey captain! Nice patch you got there.”

“Thanks, it has been the same since the day I lost my eye.”

She laughed and punched him lightly on the shoulder, “Oh really funny, you have a great sense of humor captain.”

“Not as much as yours in those forums and social networks you visit so often during work hours.”

There was a pause, and then her smile became more of a grimace, “This spy thing is getting weird. How can we know you are not a reptilian?”

“How about you go back to that lab so I’d not have to cut down your paycheck to a half?”

“Understood”, and Darcy, awkwardly, slipped away.

Fury stood there for a moment, looking at them all work before finally decreting, “This is NYPD, not some high school cafeteria. So what if the damned tension is too high? Let Rogers’ deal with his own love life damn’t!”

Nobody said anything, but the blond could see how Bucky was trying to contain his laughter and that didn’t make Steve feel any better. He already felt too embarrassed to look at his captain in the eye.

It was one thing to have your coworkers/friends nag you about your non-existent love life, but another to have your boss be aware of it too. 

Somehow, it got worse, “Everyone, I want those cases finished yesterday. Rogers, to my office.”

Steve has always had the worst luck in the world, but in all truth, he had already seen this one coming.

“What are these, Rogers?” asked Fury in a rather calm tone, given the stack of paperwork he just presented Steve on his desk. 

They were currently in Fury’s office, white walls bare of anything personal. There was a desk, some chairs, and a closet at the back that looked more like an armory than anything else.

Steve steeled himself, “They are all the forms I had to fill and make people sign for being wrongly detained”, when he said it out loud, it actually sounded way worse than what it had in his head. 

“And care tell why the hell this keeps happening?” Fury didn’t yell, but it still made Steve want to move uncomfortably on his seat, “I know that lawyer isn’t making things easier, but you shouldn’t arrest people without enough information in the first place. You know how much paperwork this is for me?”

This has been going on for more than a month now. He has been sloppy, too sloppy even considering his worst days. It must be the level of freedom, of not having to be the leader of a squadron all the time, of finally being Steve Rogers, just another NYPD detective. Sure, Natasha, Clint, Sam, and Bucky make living in the now better but it has also made him distracted, something that in this line of profession could still cost someone’s life. 

“I’m sorry captain. It will not happen again.” 

“I sure hope so, because I’ve to force you to take a leave of absence.”

Steve clenched and unclenched his fits. That was a nice way of calling a suspension.

“How much time?”

“I think a week is more than enough. Stretch your legs, punch something in the gym, hell, find someone that isn’t Stark! Of all damned people in the world it had to be him. Give your current cases to Barton and Romanoff before you leave.”

The dismissed tone was enough to make him stand and take his leave. It was fine, one week of forced vacation would be good. Or so he told himself, but what much of a choice does he have?

“Steve... You are one of my best officers, you know what is at play, I want you to come back and act like one.”

“Yes, sir. I will do so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a nice introduction of Bruce for the next chapter ;-)


End file.
